PARTRIDGE SHOOTING. 379 



A fortnight's attention to diet, bedding, and 

 exercise, will bring a dog into condition, however 

 lean or cumbrous he may be, if not diseased. Dogs 

 should be allowed plenty of exercise. They can- 

 not be too often taken out, either with or without 

 a gun, by a person who understands their manage- 

 ment, and is disposed to attend to them. Their 

 kennels should be warm and dry, and, if not under 

 cover, should be placed in sheltered situations. 

 The straw should be often changed, as cleanliness 

 is indispensable to health. They should be kept 

 free from ticks : when a dog is tormented with these 

 troublesome creatures, he should be well rubbed 

 with a mixture of train oil and spirit of turpentine, 

 which may be washed off the next day with soft 

 soap. The health of a dog is indicated by his 

 sleek appearance, by the looseness and softness of 

 his pursy and glossy skin. 



PARTRIDGE SHOOTING. 



We commence our notice of feathered game with 

 the partridge, as shooting that bird is generally the 

 young sportsman's first lesson, although in the order 

 of the season grouse shooting takes precedence. 



The partridge may be termed a home bird, for 

 the shooter who resides in the country, finds it 

 almost at his door, while it is requisite to under- 

 take a journey, perchance a very long one, before 

 he arrives at the grounds frequented by grouse. 

 As it requires neither woods, nor marshes, nor 

 heaths to afford them shelter, they are found more 

 widely scattered than the pheasant, the woodcock, 



